Athens Music Junkie

Friday Frivolity

2012-01-27T17:03:00.001-05:00

Happy weekend everyone!

What do you Meme a Walmart?!

2012-01-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, the following post probably needs to be explained for our out of town readers. It's about hyper-hyperlocal people messing about with Photoshop. All images from Michelle's tumblr...

For the past several months, Athens has been up in arms over a proposed Wal-Mart grocery store/mixed use complex in an area across the street from Nuci's Space (and THE steeple). Obviously, this has been a big issue and one I'm really not going to pontificate over here despite my personal opinions.

So in order to put a sense of scale and proportion to the Walmart, the anti-Walmart group "People for a Better Athens" released the following picture.

Obviously not drawn to scale

This picture circulated around our tiny scene via facebook (and yes, I shared it too). So, naturally, Selig, the company in charge of the new development, wanted to correct this butter-colored mound of awful. Of course, they redirected people to their site and a good "artist's rendering" of what the site will look like. The fact that I highly doubt it'll look like that either aside, PFaBA released another photo.

The truck is very important, ok?

Meanwhile, an elderly driver decided she wanted her Westside Transmet to have a drive through. Still following? Ok. It all makes sense later, trust me. All this fuss over the Walmart scale model photos led to one Athenian posting the following picture.

PUT A BIRD ON IT. It's art.

Which led to this.

Well, both places worship a small, furry animal...

Then the Transmet incident got mixed in and now we really have the greatest place on Earth thanks to Michelle. Welcome to Athens, GA memes.

You are welcome Internet.

Weekly Show Picks

2012-01-25T15:02:00.000-05:00

Tonight

Caledonia
Bad Weather California
The Breaks
Sharks and Minnows

GO Bar
11th Annual Burns Night
Bob Hay Band

Thursday
Caledonia
The Ginger Envelope
Moths
Pilgrim

WUOG
Live in the Lobby
Yo Soybean

Friday
Caledonia
All Get Out
Gift Horse
Grass Giraffes
Velveteen Pink

Farm 255
"Devo"
Talking Heads Cover Band

Saturday
40 Watt
BombsBombsBombs
Funky Bluester
Velvet Runway

Georgia Theatre
High Strung String Band
Packway Handle Band
Seven Handle Circus
Yo Soybean

GO Bar
Electrophoria (Kai!)
pacificUV

Melting Point
Deja Vu

Monday
40 Watt
The Mountain Goats
Nurses

Blogging along, blogging along

2012-01-24T16:24:00.000-05:00

While I'm trying to fix the galdarned code on the new site (I know, I know, it'll be up soon), I thought I'd throw some tidbits together for y'all.

of Montreal comes to Athens Feb 17, 2012 - Georgia Theatre but will play Jimmy Fallon on the 8th first.

Selig and the Walmartians have conquered the McCommunists. Stay tuned.

Lana Del Rey. SNL. *headdesk*

Athens is for old folk: link here

My old internship (one of several) featured in CMJ. Yay Team Clermont!

now back to work!

Rainy Day Distractions

2012-01-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

Rock Out When You Clock Out

2012-01-20T16:32:00.000-05:00

Just a friendly reminder that MONDAY is your last day to sign up your band for Athens Business Rocks! You'll be joining a ton of new contenders in trying to knock Flagpole's band off their number one pedestal. So grab some co-workers and kick out the jams, yo!

Check out Athens Business Rocks' page for more information on registration and performance dates.

Footage from years past....

Win Some Neutral Milk Hotel

2012-01-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

Who wants a cd? Those two apparently do! So here's your chance to win the above cd. Just email the answer to the following two questions to athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com with the subject title CONTEST! and this very cd can be all yours for the price of free!

Q1: What is the name of the album pictured at the top of this blogpost?
Q2: What is the name of the artist who designed this album's cover?

Okay guys, first correct email wins, even if you've won before. New year, new chance, new cd.

Weekly Show Picks

2012-01-18T16:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight

Caledonia

Delicate Cutters

Lullwater

The Resistance

Tastes Like Good

Georgia Theatre

Zoso

Thursday

Caledonia

Ruby Kendrick

Monahan

Rebecca Van Damn

Sleep Dance

Flicker

Antlered Aunt Lord

Empty Wells

Mad Axes

Tom(b) Television

Friday

Caledonia

Bambara

Life Coach

Mad Axes

Melting Point

Randall Bramblett

John, Paige & Rachel Keane

Kick The Robot

No Where Bar

Brad Downs and the Poor Bastard Souls

Efren

Saturday

Farm 255

Timmy Tumble

DJ Jacky Trash

Flicker

The Humms

El Hollin

Grandpa Egg

Jubalson

Vestibules

Tuesday

Melting Point

Whiskey of the Damned

Any Way, Amy Ray

2012-01-17T16:35:00.000-05:00

Billed as the "rock half of the Indigo Girls," Amy Ray has steadily been working on her own material culminating in her new solo album Lung of Love. Not the title I would've given it but after her career, you can pretty much name your album whatever you want.

It's her sixth solo album and we're lucky enough to be considered home turf. So Amy and her gang will be playing an acoustic gig at the Melting Point. If you're a fan of the Indigo Girls, or Amy, or just solid pop songwriting, I'd recommend heading over there.

Check out "Glow" below. It's a surprisingly upbeat guitar-pop track that should get stuck in your head after a few listens.
02 Glow Amy Ray by AngieFigure8PR

Wednesday, January 18 at the Melting Point in Athens - An Acoustic Evening with Amy Ray and Lindsay Fuller and Jeff Fielder

or in case you miss the Athens show...Friday & Saturday, January 20 & 21 at the The Crimson Moon Café in Dahlonega, GA - An Acoustic Evening with Amy Ray and Roxie Watson

Video Premier: Suspect Raptor

2012-01-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

Athens Music News Roundup

2012-01-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

Ah, the first Roundup of the New Year. It feels so good. Let's get to it.

If you were hoping to catch the Drive-By Truckers tonight or in any of their three nights at the 40 Watt, sorry. Sold out.

Missing Christmas music already? Well, here's The Humms' version of Ray Steven's "Santa Claws is Watching You" for your enjoyment.

Art Rosenbaum is working on a mural for the new Special Collections Library at UGA. Check out a video of him at work here.

Finally, our friends in Bit Brigade totally rocked Magfest. So much so that they ended up on the Daily Wh.at Geek site. Congrats guys!

Yo Yo Ma Tonight!

2012-01-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

Jeff Mangum Decides to Break Hearts on the West Coast Too

2012-01-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

If you, like me, didn't even have a snowball's chance in hell of getting Jeff Mangum tickets, you'll be pleased to hear that the Neutral Milk Hotel frontman has added more dates to his whirlwind tour. He's headed off to the west coast so you'd better ask all your friends over there to clear off a spot on the futon for you. And get ready to sell some plasma.

And here's where we pretend to be a big-boy blog and post all the tour dates in a nice little copy-paste row. Mind you, the Athens dates are "sold the eff out." Happy hunting.

01/18 – New Haven, CT @ Shubert Theater
01/19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Gilman Opera House
01/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Gilman Opera House
01/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Gilman Opera House
01/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Irvine Auditorium
01/27 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
01/28 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
01/30 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Memorial Hall
02/01 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
02/04 – Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theatre
02/06 – Chicago, IL @ Anthenaeum Theater
02/07 – Chicago, IL @ Anthenaeum Theater
02/08 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
02/10 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
02/11 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
03/07 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
03/09-11 – Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
03/13 – London, UK @ Union Chapel
03/14 – London, UK @ Union Chapel
04/09 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
04/10 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
04/14 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/16 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
04/18 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/19 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
04/20 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
05/30-06/03 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
06/07-10 – Porto, PT @ Optimus Primavera Sound

Hey! Submit Your Stuff!

2012-01-09T16:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's the first day of Spring Semester at UGA and you know what that means? TRAFFIC! And also, interns and an overflowing inbox full of stuff. But we want it all, we want it all, and we want it now.

If you've got a show, cd release, cool new video, etc., let us know by emailing athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com. If your band has a new album coming out and would like to be considered for a review, email us the link or mp3s or whichever.

ALSO! We're always happy to have contributing writers. If you've got a story from Ye Olde Athens Scene or just really need to rave about this awesome band you saw, write it up and send it to us. We'd be happy to have ya!

Entertainment Premieres New Video

2012-01-06T19:42:00.002-05:00

Local/semi-local dark rockers Entertainment have released a new video featuring music from their upcoming album. To say that we've been waiting would be an understatement but if this is your thing, it was WELL worth the wait, wouldn't you say?

ATHFEST Deadlines Approaching

2012-01-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hey you! Yes, you with the band. You're looking to play Athfest this year, right? Well, make sure you're getting your ducks in a row because deadlines are coming up pretty fast and you may have some work to do.

First up is applying to play.. You have to submit via Sonicbids before April 1st. Mark it on your calendar. Ok, first, get a calendar. Staple it to whatever is nearest and then circle April 1 in red.

Next, sending in your songs to be considered for the ATHFEST cd. This is due FEBRUARY 15TH. You should have a song picked by now. If not, pick one. Fill out this form and deliver it IN PERSON.

If you're really trying to play Athfest and you've done those things, start talking to all your favorite bands and see what their plans are. They may be looking to make a showcase. Present a pre-done lineup to a venue (or house, or parking lot) and you just may have yourself a merry little Athfest. Good luck.

Weekly Show Picks

2012-01-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

TONIGHT, JAN. 4
Hendershot's - Kenosha Kid

THURSDAY, JAN. 5
40 Watt - Garbage Island, The HEAP, Pilgrim

FRIDAY, JAN. 6
Caledonia - Black Girls, Dude Magnets, Jane Jane Pollock, Tumbleweed Stampede

SATURDAY, JAN. 7
Caledonia - Spirit Hair, The Goons, Golden Brown

MONDAY, JAN 9
Melting Point - The Hoot Showcase

TUESDAY, JAN 10
Hendershot's - Ike Stubblefield and Friends

Psst! House Party!

2012-01-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

Via Gypsy Farm Records...

3 Day House show fest - JAN 13th, 14th and 15th 2012 in Athens, GA

Bands include :

OL' Smokey
Glupist
El Hollin
Woodgrains
Figboots
Timmy and Tumblers
Rodney Kings
Koko Beware
Street Violence
Fuzzlers
Bubbly Mommy Gun
The HUMMS
Basshunter 64
Taterzeandra
Crun Pun
Black Moon
Mouser
Pretty Bird

More to come, stay tuned to GYPSYFARM.NET for details.

New Year, New Deal

2012-01-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

Well, at least we can say last year went better than 2010, right? It's strange to be on the other side of New Year's and realize it really really is 2012. The Georgia Theatre's back. R.E.M.'s gone. No more Tasty World or Rye Bar. Lots of bands breaking apart or licking their wounds from last year.

So what in the world can we look forward to in 2012? A new of Montreal album, the B-52s coming back to Athens once again, Amy Ray in January, Drive-By in Jan, Jeff bloody Mangum in Feb, etc and so forth. In other news, the new website is ready. I aimed to have it up and running by today but due to an increasingly unreliable computer, it may be a bit. Don't want to transfer everything over and suddenly lose it all due to a glitch, right? But expect to see a new look soon. That goes for Flagpole.com too. Their new site will be up in Feb(?).

Basically, the best laid plans of mice and men still get run over by reality sometimes. But hey, we've got a whole new year upon us. Who knows what's out there? Personally, I hope for a new starter venue to replace the hole T World/Rye left. Looks like New Earth is shaping up nicely to fill that need. What new bands will there be? Will dubstep finally leave me alone?! And what's with all the questions? All this and more coming in 2012. Strap in guys, it's time to get crazy.

The Best Damn Un-Christmas Song You'll Hear This Week

2011-12-21T16:52:00.002-05:00

Oh, Drive-By Truckers. You gave us "Hope Santa's Outta Rehab By Christmas," but can anything ever compare to the sheer raunchiness of "Mrs. Claus' Kimono"? I think not.

Mrs. Claus' Kimono by DriveByTruckers

More Warm and Fuzzy Christmas Tunes

2011-12-20T16:28:00.000-05:00

In continuing our sudden discovery of local Christmas albums this year, I present to you Merry Christmas from Davey and Meredith. Davey drums for the Warm Fuzzies and Meredith is his wife. Together, they make an awesome duo with a unique take on some traditional holiday tunes.

If you'd like a sample of what they're up to, I suggest heading over to the duo's bandcamp page and getting the free download. Or just listen to the player below. Whichever. I suggest the download though. It's good listening when you're baking cookies.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://daveyandmeredith.bandcamp.com/album/merry-christmas"&amp;gt;Merry Christmas by Davey &amp;amp;amp; Meredith&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

It Came Upon A Midnight

2011-12-19T16:58:00.000-05:00

I am a complete and utter fan of pretty much anything Bill Mallonee's ever recorded so it should come as no surprise to you consistent readers (all 3 of you) that I'm drooling over his Christmas tracks.

Check out the rest of the goodness on his bandcamp page and sample the lovely tunes and toss some money his way for the full album.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://billmalloneemusic.bandcamp.com/track/it-came-upon-a-midnight-clear"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR by Muriah Rose&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Love Shack Bus Stop

2011-12-16T16:29:00.000-05:00

I guess this is a pic of the "Evil" B-52s?

My good friend Rebecca can't stop giggling about the fact that the Athens bus system is called "The Bus." She's from somewhere north of the Mason-Dixon line so I always get a kick out of her love for our silly little bus name and our awesome bus stops.

But this new design takes the cake. Seriously. It's a bus stop based on the B-52s' (or is it 's'?)Love Shack. The kickstarter for the project is here. The artist is looking to raise $2,500 by Jan. 2nd and has already gotten $1,700 as of this post. So help get this project finished so we can all go sit in the shack and hum to ourselves!

Peachy Keane Christmas

2011-12-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

You gotta admit, you probably would wish that John Keane were your dad too. Grammy nominated, works with all these famous musicians, a kick-ass studio... For Paige and Rachel, he's just dad. And, ok, this one time he's their record producer too.

O Christmas, Where Art Thou? is the Keane family project (under the groan-worthy pun name We Three Keanes). It's holiday fare, naturally, but John and his daughters took special care in choosing which songs the merry-makers would perform.

"I didn't want anything too sappy on there but just songs that their voices sounded good on and some favorites," says John.

John admits that it's a tiny bit harder to work with his daughters in the studio than it is with other musicians. Mainly, it's about finding enough time, he says. The girls are often busy with after-school activities, leaving precious little time for the studio. It suits them fine, however. The girls are in the midst of college preparations. The record is a fun little way to raise some money for their soon to be out of state tuition.

So give it a listen over on John Keane's official site. Buy it and help the girls out with college and get a nifty Christmas cd to boot.

We Three Keanes, TONIGHT at the Georgia Theatre with The Darnell Boys, Whiskey Gentry, High Strung String Band

Weekly Show Picks

2011-12-14T16:54:00.001-05:00

TONIGHT

Caledonia

Turf War

VG Minus

Little Kings

Boycycle

Erin Lovett

Vespolina

THURSDAY

Caledonia

Pig Man

Thomas Hardy Morris and the Outfit

Hank Sullivant

Georgia Theatre

We Three Keanes

The Darnell Boys

High Strung String Band

The Whiskey Gentry

FRIDAY

40 Watt

Jon Guthrie: Living the Dream III

See Flagpole for Listing

The Melting Point

Abbey Road Live

SATURDAY

Caledonia

Dead Fingers

Kalen Nash

White Violet

40 Watt

Jon Guthrie: Living the Dream III

Athens Music News Roundup

2011-12-13T16:49:00.000-05:00

Don't forget that Jon Guthrie Tribute Living the Dream will be coming up this weekend. It's always awesome so plan to go!

Also happening soon, White Violet playing on Saturday. *drool*

So the B-52s are coming back to Athens (hit me like a ton of bricks). Not only that but they're offering special VIP packages at $175 and $125. The gang rolls back into town on February 9th at the Classic Center.

Community Action Meeting re: Selig development on Armstromg & Dobbs - Tues, Dec 13th, 7:30 pm East Athens Community Center, 400 McKinley Dr. - via Twitter

And finally, 25 possible reasons no one is going to see your band.

And one more from College Humor for the final exam crowd.

Spring Interns Needed

2011-12-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

Well hey there all you people looking to flesh out your resumes! Looking for a low impact, high entertainment internship to while away the hours? Dig listening to new music, researching old music, going to shows, designing web apps, and using "social media?" Then have I got the thing for you!

We're looking for interns from Jan 1 until Mayish. If you want to help us out with our (soon to be expanded) Youtube channel, photo streams, record reviews, live reviews, and other debauchery, just email athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com.

Michael Stipe is Christmas

2011-12-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

bwaaaaaahahahahahahaha *breath* hahahahahahah

I've been really stressed out lately between an interesting living situation, life in general, and trying to update this website (which is awesome but taxing). So I decided to watch some of my favorite Christmas movies to make me feel better. Naturally, I turned to two of my most favorite R.E.M./Christmas clips ever. Enjoy!

Michael Stipe as Blitzen's cousin, a flightless reindeer.

Skip to 3:22 if you, like I, can't really stand Chris Kattan but want to see Michael Stipe in a skintight fairy outfit.

New Addiction: The Shoal Creek Stranglers & THE ICE CREAMS

2011-12-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

I have repeatedly professed my love for the Humms on this here bit of Internet space. So I was very very happy when not one but two separate emails floated my way from Gypsy Farm. It seems that those guys have been pretty busy as of late

The Ice Creams sound like the good old fashion rock pop of the late 50s. The tunes, which you can listen to here, are catchy and lack the overly distorted production that marks the Humms. But the similarities between the sounds are obvious. If you like the Humms, you'll love The Ice Creams. They're like the vanilla with sprinkles to the Humms' rocky road.

The Shoal Creek Stranglers are a lot more folk oriented. If you want nothing but straight up vocals, guitar, and bass, you'll find it here. Zeke's voice, of course, is instantly recognizable but it takes on a sweeter tone, melding with the peaceful instrumentation. Take a listen here.

And of course, if you just want the Humms, here's one of their awesome songs from Lemonland.

So, in closing *DROOL*

One Press Place Sold: Home of the Banner-Herald

2011-12-07T16:55:00.000-05:00

Look, I'm one of those folk who believe local news should be covered by local people. I'm also one of those people who have looked at their ABJs (in newspapers no less) and sighed as the near-inevitable crash of journalism as we know it came to our front doors.

It's really no surprise to me that One Press Place was sold. That building was a friggin' palace. And Morris has been on my list for quite a while as.....what's the term?..... insane. Newspapers frustrate me. I am no professional reporter and at this point have no desire to be. Why work for an industry that deliberately ignores the advent of the Internet unless the paper's owners need to complain about how it's stolen all their readers. Dude, "news" is reactionary by nature. But ignoring technology, firing almost every good employee you have, and trying to centralize things that need to be local will not serve you well. Anywho, here's the press release.

From the ABH:
"Augusta, Ga. - December 7, 2011 - Morris Publishing Group, LLC, the owner of the Athens Banner-Herald, has agreed to sell One Press Place in Athens, Georgia to Lulscal, LLC, a Colorado company.

The Banner-Herald may remain in the building under lease arrangements with Lulscal, allowing the paper to utilize significantly less space as it transitions to a digital first model, which places a premium on rapid deployment of news and interactive features while requiring significantly less physical space.

The closing of the sale is expected within the next several months after a due diligence period is met. Once the sale is completed, the new owner plans to secure additional tenants to fill up the building.

Nichols Land & Investment Company brokered the purchase of the property and will manage the building on behalf of the buyer. The facility has approximately 103,000 rentable square feet and is situated on 3.1 acres in downtown Athens.

“We are excited about the possibility of managing another iconic property in downtown Athens,” said Ed Nichols of Nichols Land. “The unique spaces and floor plan of One Press Place provide a number of options for creative uses that may encourage additional businesses to locate downtown. Reinvigorating One Press Place with a new mix of tenants while allowing the Athens Banner-Herald to find just the space it needs is a win for both parties.”

Nichols has previously managed and redeveloped other downtown buildings, including the historic Hodgson Oil Building and the MacDonald Building.

“We remain fully committed to Athens’ daily print edition and are exploring options that could improve our print production capabilities,” stated Billy Morris, Chairman of Morris Publishing. “Our goal is to continue to provide timely and relevant information for our print and digital readers and exemplary service to our advertisers.”

Morris Publishing is a privately held media company based in Augusta, Ga., which owns and operates 12 daily newspapers as well as nondaily newspapers, city magazines and free community publications in the Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and Alaska. For more information, visit its Web site, http://www.morris.com/."

WIN Modern Skirts Tix

2011-12-06T16:36:00.000-05:00

Yup, you read right. We've got a pair of tickets to the Modern Skirts/Lera Lynn/Easter Island show at the Georgia Theatre this Friday night! All you have to do is answer the following question by sending your response to athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com.

Question: Lera Lynn recently did a cover version of what TV on the Radio Song?

First email with correct answer gets 2 tickets! Get on it!

Secret Santa Secret Record Swap Press Release Theatre

2011-12-02T16:30:00.000-05:00

From the page:

Hello fellow music lovers!

The upcoming Secret Record Swap will be December 3rd at the 40 Watt and is naturally sponsored by Low Yo Yo Stuff Records!
The 40 Watt Club
285 W. Washington Street, Athens, GA 30601

www.40watt.com
Please don’t forget to like, share & invite your friends to the Secret Record Swap facebook page and event page:
http://www.facebook.com/secretrecordswap
Remember anyone can sell their music related stuff at this event. It is perfect for bands, record dealers, stores, record labels, and the average collector to come out to buy, sell or trade some music related items. At the previous record swaps we have seen records, videos, CDs, tapes, posters, guitars, radios, t-shirts, stereo equipment, horns, rock photographs, whoopee pies, and more changing hands!
Tables at this event are:
$5 for 2’ includes one admission
$15 for 4’ includes one admission
$22 for 6’ includes two admissions
$30 for 8’ includes two admissions
This is the best value around for record fair table space! We are keeping the 2’ space as cheap as possible to allow the average music fan to come with a box or two of records and/or CD’s. The table costs basically cover the advertising and table rental fees.
Table reservations will be made first come first served upon receipt of payment:
please email chris@chrisrazz.com or call 706-206-0766 with :
1. The amount of space you desire.
2. Your name, mailing address, phone, & email.
3. A brief description of what you will be selling.

Three ways to pay for your tables!
• Stop in Low Yo Yo Stuff Records Monday – Thursday to give Chris a check or cash!
• or mail a check or well concealed cash payable to:
Chris Rasmussen
PO Box 1227 Athens, GA 30603
• or paypal your payment to chris@chrisrazz.com
Please use the personal “gift” option so Paypal will not deduct any fees.

This event is not happening during a football home game weekend! So no worries about any of that madness/nonsense!
The students will still be here for another week or more before the Christmas break begins.

Thanks for your interest and participation in the Secret Record Swap!

Chris Razzzzzzzzzz
The Secret Record Swap

PS - As always, dealers are responsible for the collection and payment of any applicable local, state and federal taxes on their sales.

Christmas Parade Time!

2011-12-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

I seriously look forward to this every single year. It's not the holiday season until the Downtown Athens Parade of Lights comes floating by. It starts roughly around 7 p.m. and ends with the lighting of the Christmas tree by a certain North Pole resident in red. This year we'll see high school bands and cute little doggies and what Occupy North Pole might look like. Seriously, come on out and have some fun with us!

Weekly Show Picks

2011-11-30T16:32:00.000-05:00

TONIGHT

Caledonia

Dry Humps

Fountainhead

Spotty Lads

THURSDAY

Farm 255

Music for Mail Benefit

Eddie and the Public Speakers

Tent City

Lefty Hathaway

The Melting Point

Second Sons

The Woodgrains

FRIDAY

Farm 255

Brothers

Yo Soybean

Flicker Theatre

New Sound of Numbers

TaterZandraZandra

Maximum Busy Muscle

Diet Rock Star

Boycycle

Antlered Auntlord

The Globe

The Shut Ups

Spirit Hair

SATURDAY

Go Bar

The B-53s

Nuci's Space

Emergent Heart Video Premiere

Carrousel

Easter Island

Monahan

Brett Vaughn

The Viking Progress

40 Watt

FACE OFF!!!

MONDAY

Melting Point

Squidmas

Dr. Squid

The Warm Fuzzies

Groove Tangent

Athens Music News Roundup

2011-11-29T16:39:00.000-05:00

hoooooooodie

First up, a nifty little interview with Widespread Panic's tour manager.

Those of you concerned about the planned Downtown Walmart can attend a meeting with like minds tomorrow at Ted's Most Best at 8:30 p.m.

If you want some WUOG swag for Christmas, better email gm@wuog.org with your name, size, and amount of goodness you want. T-shirts are $11 and Hoodies are $35.

NYE. 40 Watt. The Whigs and Elf Power. WOO!

If you watched the Colbert Report last night you got confirmation that Michael Stipe is still #occupyingstephen'sshelf

Keep an eye on Casper and the Cookies. They're in recording/release mode lately and may have another song for us by the end of the year...

Drive-By Truckers hit #19 in Uncut's end of year list.

Downtown Athens Parade of Lights is Thursday. Hope to see everyone outside for some holiday cheer!

Flagpole.com got eaten by spam goblins. Fortunately for all of us, the temporary site is better looking than the old one.

AthensGAWeather has gotten a major site upgrade.

Is it just me or is the last part of the posted schedule on the 40 Watt site full of great yet expensive by Athens standard shows? *le pine*

See Ya Later, Manning!

2011-11-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

Snow day, David. o.O

Our great friend and phenomenal photojournalist David Manning has set off for greener pastures (aka Orlando, FL), leaving behind a huge hole in Athens where the awesome used to be. Manning, an award winning photographer, captured some of Athens' greatest and lowest moments while at the Athens Banner-Herald. He covered UGA games, chemical plant explosions, and domestic shootings. Taking a look at his portfolio, it's easy to see why he won so many awards.

He's also a music fan and has created some stunning photos of bands around town including Shitty Candy, Patterson Hood, Misfortune500, Casper and the Cookies, Venice is Sinking, and tons more. Personally, I'm really bummed because Manning is a great guy to talk to about Athens music scene politics and the like. We've spent many hours venting. Hell, he was the first one to let me know about R.E.M.'s breakup. But the show, as they say, must go on.

So we wish David the best in the land of Mouse and Honey and hope he gets back up here once in a while. In the meantime, we'll shamelessly plug his site for a sec.You can check out David's concert work here. P.S., these photos make for nice Christmas gifts...

Break Time!

2011-11-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

Well guys, it's Thanksgiving week. That means me, the hipster kittehs, the plus one, webmaster, and the photo guy brother type are all off hunting turkeys or something. We'll update the calendar listings later on this week. Hope y'all have a safe and awesome T-day. I'm gonna go watch the parade.

*REM in TURKEY* geddit?

Contest! It's My Birthday, You Win Stuff

2011-11-18T16:26:00.000-05:00

It's actually tomorrow. *oldness*

Alrighty guys, here ya go. My birthday is tomorrow and in our new tradition, I give you! stuff. All you have to do is answer a little question and boom, you get this year's chock full o' fun prize pack thingy. It includes 3 local cds, stickers, a can opener(?) and whatever else I can stick in a mailer.

Question: Name two of the bands memorialized in the sidewalk by Vanessa Briscoe Hay and Maureen on the "Street of Stars"

Just email athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com with the subject header I WANT IT ALL. First to answer correctly wins! (If you've won something this year, please refrain from answering. Thanks!)

Furry Happy Monsters Part 2

2011-11-17T16:49:00.000-05:00

Weekly Show Picks

2011-11-16T16:43:00.000-05:00

TONIGHT

Caledonia

Suspect Raptor

Ghost Lights

Side by Side

New Earth Music Hall

Grogus

THURSDAY

40 Watt

Gift Horse

Grass Giraffes

Ponderosa

Caledonia

Brothers

Sam Sniper

Tumbleweed Stampede

Farm 255

Bombs Bombs Bombs

Tastes Like Good

Thieves Market

FRIDAY

40 Watt

Megafaun

Venice Is Sinking

Georgia Theatre

Perpetual Groove

The Globe

Half Dozen Brass Band

SATURDAY

Georgia Theatre

Drivin' N' Cryin'

Findlay Brown

New Earth

The Looters

Sumilan

Vincent the Dog

MONDAY

Flicker Theatre

Don Auber

Brandon Nelson McCoy

TUESDAY

Go Bar

Igor

New Addiction: Tumbleweed Stampede

2011-11-15T16:39:00.000-05:00

Recorded partially in Pennsylvania and partially here in Athens at Japanski Studios, "Guts" is T Stamp's new album coming out this week via Quality Faucet Records. Quality Faucet is made up of a gaggle of local artists (Reptar, Wyatt, Co Co Ri Co, etc.) all leaning towards that more experimental sound that's taken hold of Athens lately.

Tumbleweed Stampede fit right in with QFR, bringing a combination of light-hearted frivolity and delightful harmonies along with them. You can take a sneak peek of the album over on the band's bandcamp page. If you find some of Tumbleweed's label mates a bit hard to swallow, you needn't worry about these guys. They resemble the finer E6 bands instrumentation wise. There's a bit of Reptar in there too but it's more lyric and less dance than that. A pretty nicely balanced band I'd say. Give 'em a try at Tumbleweed Stampede's cd release show is this Thursday at Caledonia.

Video from Georgia Theatre R.E.M. Tribute thingy

2011-11-14T16:28:00.000-05:00

Not everything is uploaded yet but I figured I'd post some of my favorite videos from last night's amazing show.

Mike Mills ends the show with pretty much everyone helping out on "Superman"

Longtime R.E.M. HQ staffers Kevin O'Neil and David Bell get a shot at the spotlight

Kevn Kinney single-handedly destroys my battery power for "Maps and Legends"

Thayer Sarrano takes on "Walk Unafraid"

John Keane and Nathan Sheppard "Fall On Me"

Keep checking back here for more videos and a final write up of the events. *work youtube work!*

See You This Weekend!

2011-11-11T16:17:00.002-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Brian Eno, Michael Stipe & Stephen Colbert - "Lean on Me"

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

R.E.M. Roundup

2011-11-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

Humor me for a bit. My rainy day go to backup band R.E.M. doesn't exist anymore so I'm talking about them while I still....*oh god*............*SOB*

Michael Stipe gave an "exit interview" at The Quietus that's pretty revealing and honest about where the guys heads were when they decided to call it a day.

Meanwhile Peter Buck is gathering no moss. He's out with longtime good buddy (and blog favorite) Scott McCaughey touring with John Wesley Harding and the Minus 5.

Norwegian TV everyone! Also, Mike Mills.

Listen to "Parts" (as we're now calling it) over on NPR. Seriously, I refuse to type that entire title out every time.

Also, this weekend is PARTY WEEKEND! The AMJ crew will be out and about. Say hi!

Weekly Show Picks

2011-11-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

TONIGHT

Caledonia

Spring Tigers

The Head

Rocketboys

The Winter Sounds

Melting Point

Ken Will Morton & Andrew Vickery

Jim White

THURSDAY

40 Watt

Redcoat Benefit Concert

Clean Break

Groove Tangent

Spicer

Farm 255

Bombs Bombs Bombs

Hear Hums

Pretty Bird

Graze Burgers & Salads

Sidewalk Symphony

Mark Cunningham

Adam Klein

FRIDAY

Flicker Theatre

Love Tractor

Mark Tulk

Subscriber

Kill Kill Buffalo

Go Bar

Suspect Raptor

The Hotels

SATURDAY

40 Watt

The Gold Party

Easter Island

powerkompany

Go Bar

Chris McKay and the Critical Darlings

SUNDAY

Georgia Theatre

Welcome to the Reconstruction

ATHENS BANDS PLAY R.E.M.

MONDAY

40 Watt

R.E.M. CD Release Party

TUESDAY

Little Kings

Eureka California

Slaw and Order

Helen Scott

It's the End of the Year As We Know It

2011-11-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

Ok, not really, but it is that nice and shiny time of year when all us little music writer types hunch down around our keyboards and try to figure out what artists, songs, and other musical stuff makes our "Best of" list. It's a lot more complicated than it sounds. Here's an example.

Say you've been listening to a really awesome record lately that was released in August. It's fresh on your mind, you love the beats, the lyrics, everything. Then you look up your iTunes plays or Spotify list and see, heavens to Betsy!, there were at least three other albums you were swooning over this year, perhaps even more than this one. So you thank the techno gods for helping you find this out and include them all in your consideration.

And then there's the complete lack of a giant list of every release that came out this year. Usually if I'm compiling a local best of, I search for stuff on AthensMusic.net but as we all know, not everything can be found there. What about all the cassettes, limited eps, and random demos? They're all in there too. It's not really fair to include only the folk who thought to email you sometime during the year.

So all in all, the process is really complicated. That's why we're asking YOU for help. Who did you like this year? Best Show! Best Album! Best Song! Best Extensive Use of Hair Gel! Let us know who you dug this year by emailing us at athensmusicjunkie@gmail.com. And yes, pimping your own band is allowed.

Our Favorite Magical Creature: Jeff Mangum

2011-11-07T16:46:00.000-05:00

OMFGBBQ! IT'S JEFF MANGUM! Okay, now that we're done with that, on to the actual post.

The Great One will be bashing out songs two nights in a row at the Watt. The first is Friday, Feb. 10th and the other on Saturday, Feb. 11th. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 12pm EST. Fair warning, they will more than likely go really fast.

So all you E6ers/Mangum worshipers/casual "fans" should be pretty stoked right now. Who knows how the nights will go. Maybe we'll all end up around a campfire in a field somewhere. Just tell your obnoxiously loud friend to stay home. Thanks.

Concert for Children's Miracle Network

2011-11-04T16:32:00.000-04:00

(from the press release)

The Third Annual Redcoat Benefit Concert is just around the corner! Phi Kappa Theta will be presenting the benefit concert in support of Children's Miracle Network of Atlanta. Three bands will be performing: Clean Break, Groove Tangent, and Spicer. Doors open at 8:30 to everyone 18 and older, and the shows start at 9! Band links and bios can be viewed below. A $5 donation will be accepted at the door, and all proceeds go to helping the children of Georgia get the best treatment possible!

Spicer
http://www.facebook.com/spicerband

Groove Tangent
http://www.facebook.com/groovetangent

Clean Break
http://www.facebook.com/cleanbreakrock

Your help can really impact the children that the organizations represents. So stop by before you head downtown, or stay the whole night for some fantastic shows. Let's make miracles happen!

Athens Music News Roundup

2011-11-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

So, David Manning isn't a local musician but he's been photographing them for years. Free from the constraints of the Athens Banner-Herald, it looks like ol' Davey is now contributing to the Huffington Post. YAY!

The Michael Guthrie Band just released a free download. Grab it now!

Ken Will Morton was live in the American Songwriter office.

Need a place to upload/download/geek out over R.E.M.? Besides my blog? They've got you covered.

Speaking of which, here's a link to an interview telling you why they split. Hint: It was just time.

Fun thing of the day: Go to Google.com. Search "Do a barrel roll". You're welcome.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-11-02T16:33:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

Caledonia

WUOG Philosophy Rock

Ayatollah

Space Ghost

Velocirapture

Melting Point

Dodd Farrelle

Joshua Daniels and the Dangerous

THURSDAY

Caledonia

Bit Brigade

Manray

Native

Tera Melos

New Earth Music Hall

Garbage Island

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey

FRIDAY

Melting Point

Deja Vu

WUOG

Half-Time Hip Hop Homecoming Concert

SATURDAY

Caledonia

Chris McKay and the Critical Darlings

The Jompson Brothers

Josh Roberts and the Hinges

Flicker Theatre

Bloodkin

MONDAY

Georgia Theatre

Beat the Drum

Flicker Theatre

White Walls

Vacation

Kater Mass

TUESDAY

Caledonia

Circle Takes the Square

City of Ships

Come What May

Hey Musician Types! FACE/OFF OPEN CALL

2011-11-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

Completely stolen from Jeff Tobias' Facebook Note/Event thingy. If you are a musician, I'd highly recommend that you try this.Great event for a good cause. I'll let Jeff tell you about it. Message him before November 3rd, please.

I'm interested in signing up musicians for the next Athens Face/Off, which will be on December 3rd at the 40 Watt Club.

The premise is this: we pull the names of 100+ musicians out of a hat into trios. Each trio then has one month to prepare a 10 minute set, with 20 sets in all (unfortunately, not every musician is drawn). Music is what most people prepare, but it's not required. It can be original material (this is encouraged) but doesn't have to be.

This Face/off is a benefit for Whatever It Takes. From their website: "Whatever It Takes seeks to ensure that every child in Athens-Clarke County will graduate from a post-secondary education. We, along with our partners, will accomplish this throughemphasizing early intervention, recognizing that parents are a child’s first and most important teachers, focusing resources in a limited geographic area, identifying and training neighborhood leaders, setting high expectations for all children, creating a culture of success, and using data to direct to policy." Pretty cool.

We'll be drawing the names on November 3rd. If you'd like to be included, please msg me your phone number and email address, or leave it as a comment here.

If you know any open-minded, creative, patient, hardworking, non-flaky musicians who you think would work well, please refer them to this note and have them get in touch. Individuals of all musical skill levels are encouraged to participate. Thanks!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T16:44:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned my undying love of the geekery that is Tumblr?

Ah, finally. The day of debauchery is upon us. I, dressed in my sky pirate uniform, am doing my usual people watching routine today. So I figured that with all this hullaballoo, we should have some nifty local scary type tunes to listen to, don't you agree? Which locals do you like to listen to on this last day of October?

The Humms

Entertainment

WUOGFEST 2011

2011-10-28T16:29:00.000-04:00

As you may not know, WUOG's birthday falls into October/Halloween territory. Most of the time, we just have a fun little Birth-o-ween type thing going on but this year the kids have pulled out all the stops. Tons of cool shows and your best kinds of debauchery available now! Here's the list of stuff, get to it!

Monday @ Farm 255
Equinox’s Spookfest Haunted House of Infinity

Tuesday @ The Melting Point
Bluegrass Junction

Wednesday @ Caledonia Lounge
Philosophy Rock

Thursday @ the Georgia Theatre
Matter of Jazz

Friday @ Go Bar
WUOG Bands Live

Saturday @ The 40 Watt Club
Halftime Hip Hop Show

Sunday @ Cine
Friendly Folk

Featuring: Grogus, Kenosha Kid, Bird Names, Hope For AGoldenSummer, Richelle L. Brown, Hazel and Henry Slaughter (mbr Wolf Eyes), DIP, AIDS Wolf, Nancy Kay, Ruby Kendrick, Figboots, Velocirapture, Basshunter 64, and MANY MANY MORE.

For more information and a complete schedule (including door times and ticket prices), visit:
http://wuogfest.wordpress.com/ or find them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wuog.org

Press Release Theatre: "We All Go Back to Where We Belong"

2011-10-27T16:14:00.000-04:00

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe and co-director Dominic DeJoseph (who has directed previous films for R.E.M.) recruited actress Kirsten Dunst to star in one of the videos for “We All Go Back To Where We Belong.” Dunst is a Golden Globe-nominated performer who has starred in such movies as Sophia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Marie Antoinette, and the Spider-Man trilogy. She recently received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her role in the current film Melancholia, directed by Lars von Trier.

The other film stars iconic and legendary Dial-A-Poem artist/poet/activist John Giorno. Over the course of his notable career, Giorno has collaborated on several acclaimed projects with such luminaries as William S. Burroughs, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Glenn Branca. His work includes several books and multimedia poetry experiments and events. A career-spanning collection of his poems, entitled Subduing Demons in America: Selected Poems 1962-2007 was published in 2008. His first one-person gallery show, entitled Black Paintings and Drawings, was mounted at the Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery in New York in 2010.

Both black and white films for “We All Go Back To Where We Belong” capture their subjects in stark relief using a strong key light and shot with a stationary camera, an effect that Stipe describes as lending “gravity and beauty” to the proceedings.

These videos arrive on the heels of last year's successful Collapse Into Now Film Project, which featured films by artists for every song on the album. Stipe said of the new project, "To be able to work with John and Kirsten was a dream I carried since we recorded the song, and their participation completes the song for me."

“We All Go Back To Where We Belong,” which Rolling Stone recently premiered, is one of three new tracks to be included on R.E.M.’s upcoming final album R.E.M., Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage, 1982 – 2011 — a 40-song career-spanning retrospective that collects, for the first time ever, songs from pioneering American band’s entire 31-year career, including their years on both the IRS label (1982 to 1987) and Warner Bros. Records (1988 to 2011). The collection will be released on Warner Bros. Records on November 15th, 2011 and is currently available for pre-order on iTunes here and Amazon here.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-10-26T18:15:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

Flicker Theatre

Schtick or Treat

Caledonia

400 Blows

Dude Magnets

Hex Machine

THURSDAY

40 Watt

Band of Horses

The Company

Depalma's

Supercluster

Melting Point

Madsen

FRIDAY

Caledonia

Halloween Magic with Kevin O'Neil and the Fabulous Franceschini

Don Chambers + GOAT

Old Smokey

Farm 255

Timmy Tumble

Sleeping Friends

PUJOL

Georgia Theatre

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

James McMurty

Melting Point

Five Eight

Dangfly

Ruby Kendrick

SATURDAY

Downtown Athens

WILD RUMPUS!!!

40 Watt

B-53s

Of Montreal

See yesterday's post for more Halloween Shows...

MONDAY

40 Watt

Halloween 1977

The Ramones

Suicide

Modern Lovers

and more....

Caledonia

Honky Halloween

Go Bar

Every Single Coverband Ever

TUESDAY

Melting Point

WUOGFEST

Howl O Ween

2011-10-25T16:29:00.000-04:00

There's just something about Halloween in Athens that most people wouldn't understand. Why do all these young adults dress up in costumes that took 200 hours to make and then dance to cover bands all night? Because this is friggin' Athens, the town that never grew up, that's why! Your very own Neverland if Capt. Hook served alcohol.

Maybe you'll end up marching in the Wild Rumpus all the way down to the Georgia Theatre. Or perhaps on that Saturday you'll boogie oogie oogie to of Montreal who should probably dress in business casual clothes if they want costumes for Halloween. Maybe on the actual 31st you'll hop in your Tardis and go see Suicide and the Ramones at the 40 Watt.

What about WUOGFEST and the Go Bar Night o' Debauchery/Every Cover Band We Could Think Of (And Dan) Night? Or maybe just go to the Classic Center for David Sedaris. Your call. Whatever you do, you don't have an excuse to stay home. Just give all the little kids their candy and then go out for some adult fun, ok? Alrighty. Let's do this!!

The Last R.E.M. Release Parties

2011-10-24T16:15:00.000-04:00

It's really happening you guys. The end of all things. So all of y'all who want to raise another bottle, step on that throttle and get here for one last trip around the sun. As always, these events will benefit Community Connection/Family Connection. Yay!

Tickets to all these events can be purchased at Athensmusic.net. Link here.

Night #1: Welcome to the Reconstruction - Athens Bands Play the Songs of R.E.M.

Sunday Nov. 13th at Georgia Theatre

6 p.m.

Ages 18 & up $15

Featuring: The Corduroy Road, David Barbe and the Quick Hooks, Futurebirds, Grogus, Jack Logan and Coventry Climax, John Keane and Nathan Sheppard, Kevn Kinney, Lera Lynn, Nanny Island, Romper Stompers (feat. Todd Nance of Widespread Panic, William Tonks & Jon Mills of Barbara Cue, and Daniel Hutchins of Bloodkin), 706, and Thayer Sarrano.

Night #2: Back Where We Belong - R.E.M., Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage, 1982 – 2011 CD Pre-Release Party

Monday Nov. 14th at 40 Watt

7 p.m.

All Ages $15

The final CD pre-release party with silent and live auctions, exclusive video footage, raffle, and limited edition merchandise for sale. Auction items include a donated Rickenbacker guitar signed by all four members of R.E.M., framed signed guitar picks, an 8”x10” open edition signed archival pigment ink print of R.E.M. in Walter’s Bar-B-Que from 1984 donated by photographer Laura Levine, R.E.M. set pieces from past tours, archived t-shirts, and more.

2nd Event: Toast of Chronic Town - Athens Finest Eateries Bring Their Best

Monday Nov. 14th at Cine

5 - 7 p.m.

All Ages $75

Sampling of food from more than 15 of Athens’ finest eateries, including Weaver D's, The Grit, Five & Ten, Dondero’s, The National, The Four Coursemen, Ted’s Most Best, La Dolce Vita, The Last Resort, Loco’s, Marti’s at Midday, Mama’s Boy, Heirloom Cafe, Big City Bread, The Taco Stand, Taqueria Del Sol, Farm 255, Jittery Joe’s, DePalma’s and others. During the event, special screenings of R.E.M. live concert footage on an archived 35mm print and a special 90-minute R.E.M. video retrospective will be shown in each theatre.

TGIF

2011-10-21T17:02:00.000-04:00

The Adorable Kitty Post

2011-10-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

Grady and Terry

I am the proud slave of two hipster kittehs that my brother rescued shortly before my graduation from UGA last year. They're smart, cuddly, and rather fond of Venice is Sinking. Still haven't figured that one out but I digress. They are rescue kitties. It's something my family has always done and something I hope to continue to do.

Why am I talking about this on a music blog? Because if you ask any musician around town about their animals, they will start going on and on about them. Most of the ones I've come across are rescues too. I received an email a few days ago from the Athens Area Humane Society asking for help in raising awareness on a certain issue: black pets.

For some unknown reason, black pets, especially cats, are not being adopted from shelters at the same rate that their more colorful peers are. So the AAHS is hosting a "blackout" for the last 13 days of October. The Pet Supplies Plus adoption center will be full of black lights and the black kitties (and honorary black kitties) will be wearing neat glow in the dark stuff. The adoption fee for these dark felines? $13.

So please excuse this post if kitties and puppies really aren't your thing and you were here for something about Widespread Panic or DBT or whatnot. I just had two semi-black kitties looking me in the face and I felt the need to write about this. For more info, see the AAHS blog.

WHEN:

October 19-31, 2011, Monday-Friday 1-7pm and Saturday-Sunday 12-6pm

WHERE:

Athens Area Humane Society Adoption Center

Back of Pet Supplies Plus

191 Alps Road

Athens, GA 30606

WHY:

To increase black pet adoption rates and raise public awareness about Black Pet Syndrome.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-10-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

Go Bar

Suspect Raptor

Misfortune500

Star Slammers

THURSDAY

Georgia Theatre

Packway Handle Band

Railroad Earth

FRIDAY

Nuci's Space

MBUS Halloween Bash

Sam Sniper

The Woodgrains

The Falcones

New Madrid

Avid Bookstore

Madeline

SATURDAY

40 Watt

Wild Flag

Eleanor Friedberger

Caledonia

DEVILNECK METAL FEST

Farm 255

Monahan

Cicada Rhythm

BJ Wilbanks

MONDAY

Georgia Theatre

Blake Mills

Lucinda Williams

Flicker Theatre

Casino

Dead Broke

Guicci Earth

Clamin' Pluto

TUESDAY

Go Bar

Eureka California

Farm 255

Nutritional Peace

Moths

Alexis Gideon

R.E.M. News Roundup

2011-10-18T16:23:00.000-04:00

This is what happens when Jordan uploads gifs. :(

Heh. How many of y'all saw this coming even after R.E.M. retired? There's always something going on with them, I tell you.

First up, REMHQ is having a song of the week every week until the Nov. 15th release of Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage, 1982-2011. They're showcasing the official video along with all the cover vids they can find. SO SEND AMJ YOUR R.E.M. COVERS! Seriously, we can pass 'em along and you may just see your trombone cover of "Orange Crush" appear.

THE LAST R.E.M. SINGLE. You can hear it here at RollingStone.com.

I've said it many times before, the band is done making new music together but there's no way they're done fighting the good fight. Point illustrated with this tribute to Occupy Wall Street. Here's a printout and a poster of the words to "Welcome to the Occupation." They've even made a lyric video so you can spread the word to all your friends online. Viva la occupy!

Music Video Monday

2011-10-17T16:39:00.000-04:00

So this happened at Popfest. Vanessa from Pylon with the Dead Milkmen covering Pylon's "Crazy."

And if you missed Bassnectar last night...

Jay from the Skirts needs to cool it on the coffee

And one more new Modern Skirts video for you

R.E.M. 3/30/1983

2011-10-14T16:28:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to Murmurs.com head Ethan Kaplan for posting this beauty of a clip on youtube from R.E.M.'s show at Daytona Beach all the way back in 1983. Take the time to watch it all because it's pretty darn good.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-10-13T16:32:00.000-04:00

Tis the Non-Popfest edition. :)

TONIGHT

Nuci's Space

Chromazone

Fuzzbucket

Ted's Most Best

Dual Diagnosis

New Earth Music Hall

Tent City

Albatross

Elastic Skyline

FRIDAY

Hendershot's

Curley Maple

Melting Point

Burning Angels

Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

SATURDAY

Farm 255

The HEAP

The Knockouts

Georgia Theatre

Abbey Road Live

Go Bar

The Empties

MONDAY

40 Watt

Bear Hands

TUESDAY

Go Bar

Club Beasts

Happy Popfest!

2011-10-12T16:28:00.000-04:00

If ATHFEST wasn't your thing, if you want indie music greatness from both near and far, go to Popfest.Other non-Popfest calendar up tomorrow.

Schedule

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12th, 2011

CALEDONIA LOUNGE

2:00    BombsBombsBombs
2:45    Sea of Dogs
3:40    Younger Siblings
4:15    El Hollin'

10:00 Shaved Christ
11:00 Michael Guthrie Band
12:00 the Wild
1:00    Burns Like Fire

40 WATT CLUB

7:30    Sweater Girls
8:15    Bird Names
9:00    Grape Soda
9:45    Flash to Bang Time
10:30 Orca Team
11:15 Witches
12:00 Tunabunny
12:45 Throwing Muses

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13th, 2011

CALEDONIA LOUNGE

2:00    the Goons
2:45    the Cavemen Go
3:30    Cassolette
4:15    Catnaps
5:00    Hot Pals

9:00    Supercluster
10:00 Jane Jane Pollock
11:00 Gold Party
12:00 Night Moves Gold
1:00    Gospel Music

40 WATT CLUB

7:30    Eureka California
8:15    Holopaw
9:00    Afternoon Naps
9:45    Bunnygrunt
10:30 Sourpatch
11:15 Madeline
12:00 Oh Ok
12:45 Bob Mould

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14th, 2011

CALEDONIA LOUNGE

2:00    Hug Abuse
2:45    Antlered Auntlord
3:30    Normandie Wilson
4:15    One Happy Island
5:00    Monnone Alone

9:00    Architecture
10:00 Rex or Regina
11:00 Gift Horse
12:00 Tater ZandraZandra
1:00    Easter Island

40 WATT CLUB

7:30    Red Pony Clock
8:15    James Husband
9:00    Cookies
10:00 the Gerbils
11:00 Masters of the Hemisphere
12:00 Olivia Tremor Control

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2011
THE CLASSIC CENTER
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Poptober Fair Craft/Comic/Record Show. PopFest versions of Indie Craftstravaganzaa, FLUKE, and the Secret Record Swap. $5, free with wristband.

CALEDONIA LOUNGE

2:00    the Fuzzlers
2:45    Marc with a C
3:30    Bastards of Fate
4:15    Joe Jack Talcum
5:00    Bows and Arrows

9:00    Viking Progress
10:00 Ruby Kendrick
11:00 Matt Hudgins & the Shit Hot Country Band
12:00 Buxton
1:00    Wild Moccasins
TED'S MOST BEST (FREE on the PATIO)

5:30    High Fidelics
6:30    Los Meesfits
40 WATT CLUB

7:30    Four Eyes
8:15    Dead Dog
9:00    Cars Can Be Blue
9:45    Fishboy
10:30 Kleenex Girl Wonder
11:15 Man or Astroman?
12:30 Dead Milkmen

New Video Tuesday: Tunabunny & Mark Tulk

2011-10-11T16:18:00.000-04:00

It's a rainy day outside. So why not just kick back and watch some new local music videos? Or just muck around on Memebase as usual. Your call. Just know you're missing some interesting stuff on here..

Press Release Theatre: ATHFEST CD

2011-10-10T16:29:00.000-04:00

Jeez, is it really that time of year again? Seems like just yesterday we were Athfesting away. Now it's time for all Athens' children to submit their songs to the Athfest cd once again in hopes of being on the compilation.

Now I know what you're thinking, "I submitted last year only to see my hopes and dreams come crashing down around me like oh so many pieces of beautiful, delicate glass from the rare unicorn sculpture my grandma gave me when I was a child."

One: You have a unicorn sculpture? Two: It's not going to hurt to submit again. Seriously.

Go here to fill out the form. Be quick, since it's only, you know, 5 months away... Deadline is Feb. 15th.

Nuci's Turns 11

2011-10-07T16:06:00.000-04:00

It's really incredible that Nuci's Space is now celebrating its 11th year of existence! Hooray! To make things really fun this weekend, they're throwing a party tonight featuring some of Athens' finest. Swing by the Space anytime from 5:30p.m. to 9:30p.m. for music from Monahan, Coy King, Ruby Kendrick, Thayer Sarrano, and Shauna Greeson.

If you're the speedy, hungry person type, there's food from Amici's, East West Bistro, and more! Nuci's is also having a silent auction filled with interesting things from jewelry and gift certificates to signed posters and the like from Widespread Panic! Best of all, the event is open to the public and is completely free! So head on down at some point today and poke around a bit. Happy birthday Nucis!

AMJ and EoA Seize the Airwaves

2011-10-06T16:23:00.000-04:00

It's been a long while since I've been back to my beloved WUOG, even longer since I've sat in the booth as a dj. But finally, this Sunday, I'll be back on air for a two hour stint with my awesome co-host/co-blogger in crime Echoreyn of Athens.

It's all part of WUOG's annual Seize the Airwaves fundraiser. You sign up for an hour-long shift, pay $10 towards the charity of the semester, and then do whatever you want on air (minus obscenity, naturally). I honestly considered playing nothing but Nyan cat for an hour but I don't have enough cash for that. There's some shifts left if you want 'em! Everything you need to know is in the link above.

So what will you hear from the blogging duo? Well, Pylon, R.E.M., Bambara, Dead Confederate, etc.. If you've got a request, send it in. Our time will be SUNDAY 6pm-8pm!!! Listen in on 90.5fm or at www.wuog.org.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-10-05T16:39:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

Hendershots

Randall Bramblett

Go Bar

Magical Talent Show

THURSDAY

Max

Shallow Palace

Sleepy Eye Giant

Spring Tigers

Classic Center

Indigo Girls

Roxie Watson

FRIDAY

Nuci's Space

Birthday Party!

Ruby Kendrick

Monahan

Thayer Sarrano

Amici Italian Cafe

Juice Box

SATURDAY

Hendershots

Hope for Agoldensummer

Modern Skirts

Melting Point

Sonia Leigh

Sol Junky

MONDAY

40 Watt

Matthew Sweet and Band

Miles Zuniga

Melting Point

The Hoot

TUESDAY

Transmission Merch

The District Attorneys

Hardy Morris

David Barbe and the Quick Hooks

Press Release Theatre: Magical Athens Talent Show at GO

2011-10-04T16:09:00.002-04:00

Hey yall! Talent show again!

Come wow the world with your magical gifts, all for the benefit of Nuci's Space. Message me/Jeff Tobias to sign up.

Bonus points if your talent is related to MtG.

$3-5 donation at the door to Nuci's Space.

Contestants:

- Robby Fogarty
- Amelia Weltner
- David Commins
- Colby Carter
- Daniel Powell

Tomorrow at 9:00pm - Thursday at 12:00am

GO BAR

Athens Music News Roundup!

2011-10-03T16:28:00.000-04:00

The District Attorneys are releasing an EP of 6 songs for your listening pleasure before they head to the studio for a full-length in November. They're playing Transmission Merch next Tuesday if you want to check 'em out!

A metric ton of our favorite locals are headed off to CMJ this year. Included in this particular Southeast Showcase are our friends from Hope for agoldensummer, Eureka California, Spring Tigers, and Misfortune500 (note shameless plug). So if you've got any plans to be in NYC or friends up there, tell 'em to check it out!

You did click this link when I posted it to the AMJ facebook page, right? If you didn't, and you're an R.E.M. fan, you're missing something awesome. Seriously. Hint: 1981 demo...

If y'all remember Jordan being on WUOG as the djay for Sound of the City a few years back, you'll be happy (or sad, I dunno) to know that AMJ and Echoreyn of Athens will team up this Sunday at 6p.m. for 2 hours of local music debauchery. Listen in on 90.5fm or www.wuog.org!

Wilson's Soul Food. R.I.P. :(

Last but certainly not least, Athens Popfest has released its official video promo thingy. If the style looks familiar, that's because the guy behind the Reeks of Failure video won the Popfest promo contest! Adventure!!!

Coquette, Cassette

2011-09-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

I used to spend hours trying to get those damn cassette tapes fixed, sticking some sort of pencil or scissors into the holes and winding and winding and winding... Heaven forbid if the tape player actually "ate" the tape! Mind you, it was an easy enough fix with enough patience and some clear tape but I fear that my copy of Space Jam will forever have a second long blip during "Basketball Jones."

I guess it was only a matter of time before people our age got nostalgic for the most cumbersome of formats: the tape. Unlike records, whose glorious vinyl actually plays differently soundwise, tapes are pretty inferior sounding, looking, and use wise. But apparently it's the new indie, hip thing to do.

So it's no surprise then for those of you in the "in crowd" that of Montreal has released a cassette box set. I will give you this, the box art alone is pretty damn awesome. And if you're the type to drive a car that still has a tape player (like I did), you might actually enjoy having this around. Thankfully, mp3 download codes come with all the cassettes so if you are tape player-less, you can put it on your iPod. So, uh, good luck with all that then.

The Power of Music: Emotional Bag Check

2011-09-29T16:37:00.000-04:00

There's this great little site I stumbled across a while back called Emotional Bag Check. It's a nifty little place where you can "check your emotional baggage" by way of writing about your problem in a small space on the site. Then enter your email and someone will send you a song that they think might help/explain the situation.

If you're one of the lucky ones without baggage, you can offer to "carry" some by selecting a song to send to someone, all run through Grooveshark. It's a wonderful idea. Using music as a healing tool. Or maybe just something to vent with. How many of us have gotten our teenage angst on with Linkin Park or drowned our sorrows in an overdose of Leonard Cohen? Ok, well, I have at least.

As sites like Postsecret have taught us, there's something quite satisfying about telling a stranger all your problems or secrets.They have no room to judge but on the surface level. We're all in this together. Check your bags at the door.

The site is relatively new and may have a few bugs but I figured it might be something you guys would be interested in. Have fun.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-09-28T16:20:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

Go Bar

Suspect Raptor

The Skipperdees

Ghost Lights

Locos Grill

Normaltown Flyers

THURSDAY

40 Watt

Chris McKay and the Critical Darlings

Tealvox

Lowdive

Caledonia

White Violet

Mitchell Thunderbolt

Joel Hamilton

Melting Point

Free Mountain

Ice Cream Man

Save Grand Canyon

Dan Wentworth

FRIDAY

40 Watt

Ruby Kendrick

Lera Lynn

Shovels and Rope

Little Kings

Sam Sniper

Yo Soybean!

Mr. Falcon
Save Grand Canyon

Machismo

SATURDAY

Farm 255

Efren

Thomas Wynn and the Believers

40 Watt

Timmy Tumble and the Tumblers

Still Flyin'

Hey Rocco

SUNDAY

Hendershot's

Nice Machine

MONDAY

Hendershot's

Open Mic

TUESDAY

Caledonia

Albatross

Connected Houses

Go Bar

Gripe

R.E.M. Roundup

2011-09-26T16:34:00.001-04:00

I was saving that title for my book, dammit! j/k

R.E.M. will release a career retrospective album called Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage on November 15th. It contains 40 songs including three new tracks recorded this summer in Athens: "A Month of Saturdays," "Hallelujah," and "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" which will be released as a single on October 18th. It features liner notes from Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe. Tracklist is here.

The release and the title of this album reveals what many have suspected, that R.E.M. has had this retirement in mind for a while. Mills confirmed as much to Rolling Stone in an article from the upcoming Oct. 13th issue.
The band delayed the announcement because "a lot of people are affected by this decision in a serious way," Mills says, referring to R.E.M.'s staff and crew. "We wanted everything set up the way it should be. Which leads to our next topic that a lot of you have been emailing AMJ about...

RE: R.E.M. Fanclub
If you had renewed/were "in" by Sept 21, you'll get this year's Christmas package and possibly 1 more newsletters. There will be no more fanclub new memberships or renewals. :(

Say Thanks to R.E.M. here. Gotta quit reading this at work or I'll start tearing up...

MONSTER turns 17 today. Holy gee whiz.

Coldplay on R.E.M.
If you happened to be at Music Midtown in ATL on Saturday, you might've seen Coldplay. Chris Martin's friendship with Stipe has been well documented and the British singer saw fit to pay tribute to our fine Georgia band by performing "Everybody Hurts." Nothing like 45,000 people singing along...

And if you want to hear true nerdity, I (Jordan) was interviewed for a few R.E.M. things last week. Here's the Athens Banner Herald story and me on NPR with Ingrid "Rockville" Schorr.

WUOG Carnival of Sorts

2011-09-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

What? Too soon to use an R.E.M. song as a headline? But it fits sooo well! Anywho, WUOG is throwing a carnival this weekend in conjunction with the fine folks over at the UGA Music Business Program.

I've been assured that there will be face painting, a kissing booth (!), bubbles, juggling, and all sorts of insanity. Oh, and there's music too. Grinnin' Bear and Brothers are among some of the performers. It's all happening at Nuci's Space from 6 p.m. to who knows when. Get in for $5 if you're normal, $3 if you're dressed like a clown.

We all could use a bit of fun and frivolity right now so why not give the WUOG Carnival a Try? Find all the extra details right here.

Thank You R.E.M.

2011-09-22T16:25:00.000-04:00

My first, and only, REM show. ATL 2008

"I wouldn't be in Athens if it weren't for R.E.M."

It's a common refrain you'll hear over and over in the coming days as the town tries to digest the news that our favorite sons have decided to retire. And it's true for a lot of us. I know it's true for me.

I can't claim to have been there from the beginning. Born the year of Document, my first intro to the band involved Sesame Street and a song called "Furry Happy Monsters." I was maybe 10 when Bill Berry retired. My older friends, ones who were actually there at the old church that famous night, are fond of telling me how much I missed. So yes, I'm part of the younger generation of R.E.M. fans.

The only memories I have of the early days are of long faded photographs and bootlegs from shows played in places that don't exist anymore. Thanks to Youtube, I can watch the blonde Stipe shake and shiver, see Bill in full on flight, watch the roar of Buck's guitar and laugh at Mills' nudie suit. But I've got my own experiences to draw on now, looking back on the amazing career that the guys have had.

This blog you're reading? It wouldn't be here without R.E.M. I started it to relay stories from Athens to my friends across the planet, most of whom I met through the Murmurs.com fan site during the weeks leading up to Accelerate. The twitter account? Set that up to follow remroaddog during the tour. REMHQ has linked to my content both here, at WUOG, and Flagpole more times that I can count.

I have had so many incredible experiences with this band. They were the soundtrack to my college years, appropriate, no? I got to DJ with Mike, shoot the breeze with Peter, and watch Bill Berry surprise everyone and play drums onstage again. The times I've been up to the HQ office have been unforgettable. I've gotten so much advice and encouragement from that group. I'm so honored and thankful that I've gotten to do so much with a band and its management, especially such a group of good, talented, and amazing people.

I'm listening to Collapse Into Now a day after the announcement. It's oddly comforting. The whole album takes on a new light now, whether by design or not. I keep replaying "It Happened Today" over and over and over. Yes, I'm sad that R.E.M. won't be releasing any more new material or playing any more shows. But let's think about all they've done.

Athens and all its eccentricities are known worldwide because of their loyalty to the town. They introduced their fans to other artists, ranging from Pylon and Love Tractor up through associated acts like the Decemberists. Those of us here in town know that when you see a large anonymous donation to a local charity, you can usually figure out who it was. And that's the kicker.

For all their accomplishments, they stay remarkably humble and low key. That, I think, is the secret. You could always imagine yourself hanging out with a member of R.E.M. in some forgotten bar or record store. If you ever dealt with any of their staff, they practically rolled out the red carpet for you. Fan club? STILL $10. R.E.M. always did it their way.

It's only fitting that they end their extraordinary run with an almost understated announcement. No giant farewell tour, no full page ads in Rolling Stone... Michael will continue his art, Mike, his golf swing, Peter, his half-dozen bands...

As for us, the fans, friends, and family of R.E.M., at least we can rest easy knowing that we've gotten their all. You couldn't have asked for a better career. The band is not just influential but popular! They outlived all their contemporaries and beat the game. All things must come to an end. R.E.M. didn't burn out, explode, or outlive their musical life. It's the right time.

So Michael, Peter, Bill, Mike, Scott, Bill R., Bertis, Kevin, Mercer, David, and all the many good people at REMHQ, THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart and I swear, I'll Remember Every Moment.

It Happened Today

2011-09-21T15:22:00.000-04:00

FROM REMHQ

"To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." R.E.M.

In their own words: The guys share their thoughts on why now.

MIKE

"During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, 'what next'? Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together.

"We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this--there's no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We've made this decision together, amicably and with each other's best interests at heart. The time just feels right."

MICHAEL

"A wise man once said--'the skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.' We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we're going to walk away from it.

"I hope our fans realize this wasn't an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way.

"We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It's been amazing."

PETER

"One of the things that was always so great about being in R.E.M. was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by you. Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you.

"Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it's only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club: watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world."

Press Release Theatre: Rewired Gear Sale for Nuci's

2011-09-20T16:49:00.000-04:00

Nuçi's Space will be selling TONS of used music gear on Saturday, September 24 at the OK Coffee seating area on the corner of College Ave and Clayton St from noon-4 pm. We have a dozen electric guitars and basses, lots of amps, keys, effects processors, drums and drum accessories. Come see us, we accept cash, check or credit.

Hunk of Burning Love

2011-09-19T16:33:00.000-04:00

I'd recommend you read the Red and Black recap of last night's show at the Melting Point. It'll give you the basic gist of what went on. But as for myself, I was repeatedly blown away by the sheer magnitude of the event. It was a wonderful evening full of music and friends and awkward dancing.

It's so nice to know that we live in a town where people can come together en mass and help a friend. It's even cooler when you grab the likes of Randall, Davis, John, Bill and the host of talented musicians that played last night.

And since you asked, we got footage of the gig. It takes a bit to upload so check back later today and early tomorrow for more clips from the evening.

Thank God It's the Weekend

2011-09-16T16:27:00.000-04:00

PARTY!!!

Pop, Pop, Popfest Video

2011-09-15T16:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, I will continue to make bad pop puns when I write about Popfest. Deal with it.

So if you're the type that likes to make videos, likes music, and likes Popfest, boy have we got a contest for you! The Popfest Foundation announced today a special promo video contest.If you've got the right stuff, you could see your video being used all over the place and get yourself two wristbands to the festival. Hop on it, details below!

Your video must...

1) be 1 minute, 30 seconds or shorter

2) mention all the headlining bands (Olivia Tremor Control, Man or Astroman?, The Dead Milkmen, Bob Mould and Throwing Muses), must mention the festival dates October 11-15, Must mention the *Poptober craft, record and 'zine/mini comic fair (see below)

3) display WWW.ATHENSPOPFEST.COM at the end for at least 5 seconds

4) be posted to YouTube or Vimeo only. No email submissions. Only email Gordon@athenspopfest.com with a link to where your video is located.

5) Must grant the Athens PopFest permission to distribute the video as a promotional item.

6) Sorry, no one playing the festival is eligible to participate.

7)DEADLINE: Thursday, September 22, 9:00 AM.

Prizes:

1st: Two Full festival wristbands to this year's fest!

2nd: One full festival wristband to this year's fest

3rd: Two tickets to a single night at the 40 Watt (If you're friendless or dateless we'll even split these between two nights because we're such nice people!)

Please note: If you've already purchased tickets or passes you can not receive a refund for those if you win. However, we will allow you to assign your prize to someone else. You may choose one person one time. You may only do this once. Absolutely no name changes after you tell us who to give it to. Why? Because that's just a hassle.

*10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Poptober Fair Craft/Comic/Record Show. PopFest versions of Indie Craftstravaganzaa, FLUKE, and the Secret Record Swap. $5, free with wristband. THE CLASSIC CENTER

Weekly Show Picks: Sept 14 - Sept 20

2011-09-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

40 Watt

Wye Oak

Okkervil River

Flicker Theatre

Don Chambers + GOAT

Jeremy Wheatley

THURSDAY

Nowhere Bar

Stokeswood

Caledonia

Tumbleweed Stampede

Street Violence

Tater ZandraZandra

Qurious

New Earth

Blueprint

Atmosphere

Evidence

FRIDAY

Hendershots

Adam Klein

Adam Levy

Caledonia

Hot Cha Cha

Spirit Hair

Spring Tigers

Summer People

Gnat's Landing

Strawberry Flats

SATURDAY

40 Watt

The District Attourneys

Eddie and the Public Speakers

Mr. Falcon

Plush Palace

Zlam Dunk

Terrapin Beer Co.

The K-Macks

Taj Motel Trio

SUNDAY

Melting Point

Tim White's Burning Down the House Party Benefit

Michael Guthrie Band

Nathan Sheppard Band

Rick Fowler Band feat. Bill Berry

Stawberry Flats

MONDAY

Hendershots

Open Mic

TUESDAY

Flicker Theatre

Madeline

Your Heart Breaks

Too Hot To Fish: Too Cool for TV

2011-09-13T16:59:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlefolk, I present the amazing work of one Stephen Colbert.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Stephen Reports on an Old-Fashioned Hero

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Get it in Gear

2011-09-12T16:26:00.000-04:00

We talk a lot about musicians in Athens but there's a whole group of people that those musicians owe their livelihoods to: techs. All it takes is one bad drop and your amp/guitar/drum is gonna need the tender loving care that you can't provide. That's where these guys come in.

Flagpole recently ran this article about some of our finest go to guys when it comes to gear. The work they do can be highly specialized or sometimes just involve hitting something with a wrench (well, that's what I do). But there's no doubt that Athens would be in trouble if it weren't for our tech minded people out there to keep things running, and sounding, smooth.

Bouncing off Satellites

2011-09-09T16:22:00.000-04:00

For some reason, it completely escaped me that the B-52s Bouncing off the Satellites turned 25 yesterday. Seriously, that record is 25 years old. Wowzers.

While it's no Cosmic Thing, BotS was insanely important in shaping the Bs that we know and love. By career standards, the record was merely okay and today its rare to find people outside the fandom who really dig it. But there's some good stuff here and there. Musically okay but the real story of the album is what happened during the making of.

The recording of the album was derailed by the tragic loss of Ricky Wilson. To lose a brother, a friend, a musician is unthinkable. When he passed in October of that year, few could've blamed the Bs for calling it quits. It wasn't a pretty road to drive down but they stayed on it and later released the amazing Cosmic Thing, a record packed with high quality good fun and a strange tinge of sadness.

It's easy to mark off a record in a long running band when it's not that great. I suppose we tend to forget that bands are on a journey just like us and that every record has its lessons to teach. If anything, BotS is inspiring in the fact that they made it through to the other side and to happier days ahead.

Athens Music News Roundup

2011-09-08T16:41:00.000-04:00

Football weekend coming up. Let's hope for a better game and better uniforms. At least they weren't Maryland. Ick!

The UGA Music Business program needs your song. Also, they're digitizing a whole bunch o' stuff. Details can be found via Flagpole here.

Neutral. Milk. Hotel. BOXSET.

Tunabunny gets some nice, steamy press.

Want to win $400 and help wounded soldiers? Design a poster for the upcoming Wounded Warriors record.

Word is that the space formerly known as Schoolkids Records will become an Under Armour outlet. Yikes.

Speaking of former record stores, RIP Criminal Records in ATL.

And finally, by our geek powers combined, this is Of Montreal covering the White Stripes.

Of Montreal covers The White Stripes

Weekly Show Picks Sept 7 - Sept 13

2011-09-07T08:00:00.002-04:00

TONIGHT

Farm 255

Timmy Tumble

Royal Baths

Tunabunny

Flicker

The HEAP

Melting Point

Songwriters in the Round

Ken Will Morton

Redneck Greese

Efren

Holly Belle

THURSDAY

Caledonia

Grape Soda

Emperor X

Front Bottoms

Georgia Theatre

Bright Eyes

First Aid

Little Kings

Antlered Aunt Lord

Green Gerry

Los Meesfits

TaterZandraZandra

Max

Kite to the Moon

The Woodgrains

FRIDAY

Caledonia

Desarios

Ocean is Theory

Santah

Slowriter

Flicker

Romanenko (reunited)

Panic Manor

New Earth

Guzik

Hot Breath

Lazer/Wulf

SATURDAY

40 Watt

Mute Math

Georgia Theatre

Fuzzy Sprouts (reunited)

Hayride

Office Lounge

The Vinyl Strangers

MONDAY

Melting Point

The Hoot

Hendershots

Open Mic with Kyshona Armstrong

TUESDAY

Little Kings

Clay Leverett and Friends

Go Bar

Songwriter Invasion

Flicker

Between Neighbors

New Music Tuesday: Bill Mallonee

2011-09-06T16:18:00.000-04:00

Glad to see Bill Mallonee is still hard at work, despite having moved away from Athens town for a bit. His latest album, The Power and the Glory, is due out Oct 2nd and judging from the sound of it, is pure Mallonee kicked up a few notches.

Bill has made some tracks available for your listening pleasure over on his bandcamp page. Or you can just click the little box below for some tuneage. We're shameless fans of Bill and the Vigilantes of Love so expect more on the album later. For now, enjoy!

<a href="http://billmalloneemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-power-the-glory-5-song-audio-preview">The Power & the Glory 5 song audio preview by Bill Mallonee</a>

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T16:53:00.002-04:00

Happy End of Summer

2011-09-02T18:27:00.001-04:00

Redcoats March On!

2011-09-01T16:05:00.002-04:00

Possibly some of the most underrated musicians in Athens, the UGA Redcoat Marching Band is almost instantly recognizable in the NCAA. The days are long, the work and heat extreme, but they still manage to have a great time. We asked our friend Matt, better known as Athens GA Weather, to talk about his days in the Redcoats.

BY MATT DANIEL

Marching in the Redcoat Marching Band was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life, and I will never forget all of the amazing memories I had. You get to meet some incredible people, and represent the University of Georgia. I played trumpet in the Redcoat Marching Band from 2005-2008. I got to perform in one of the best marching bands in the United States. I will never forget playing Krypton during pregame at the Georgia Blackout game against Auburn in 2007. Watching our team win a SEC championship and beating a team who should have beaten you (LSU) was another highlight. (Yes, we were a good football team a long time ago!) What you might not know, is how much work we put into Redcoats. I wouldn’t say marching in the band was “difficult”, but very time consuming.

Band camp in early August starts off the Redcoat Marching Band. Typically, Auxiliary, drumline, and derbies report to camp a few days early to work on organizing music, making flip folders, and of course, practicing routines/music. Eventually, freshmen show up and are taught the basic fundamentals of marching. When I was in it, we would be outside in the heat from 9am-12pm teaching the rookies how to march and listen to commands. We also have auditions to figure out what parts are given to each member (rookies and returning members). Eventually, the full band registers and the season starts off. Band camp usually lasts a week and has a schedule similar to this:

12pm-4pm: Inside music rehearsal

6-10pm- outdoor marching rehearsal

We usually work on all of the stands and show music during sectionals and full band from 12-4pm. By 6pm-10pm, we learn the pregame and show 1 drill. After our day is over, we repeat the same thing for the next 3-5 days.

During the school year, we practice Tuesday and Thursdays from 5:30-7:30pm. If there is a game on Saturday, then the band practices on Fridays too. Members actually register to play in Redcoats, and only receive one hour credit. Saturdays are typically an all-day event. We usually have to wake up extremely early and practice around 7am in the morning if it is a home game. Afterwards, we are on our own until the Dawg Walk starts up. On some away games, we might have to wake up around 3am or 4am to depart (especially if it is a noon kickoff).

We easily put in 20 hours a week or more (depending if we have a game that weekend). It’s a lot of hard work, but it is so worth it. Everyone in the organization is great, and it really gives you appreciation for the university.

Nothing finer in the land, than the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band! Go DAWGS!

For more on Matt, check out his Twitter Page ( @athensgaweather), his blog on Athens Weather, and his major blogging site at EarthSky.org.

Weekly Show Picks

2011-08-31T16:44:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

40 Watt

Gift Horse

Hardy Morris and Walker Howle

The Interns

Ruby Kendrick

Z-Dog

Farm 255

New Sound of Numbers

ALAK

Pregnant

Georgia Theatre

Zoso

THURSDAY

Georgia Theatre

Gold Party

of Montreal

Yip Deceiver

New Earth

Funk You

New Sneakers

Go Bar

Dr. Fred's Karaoke

FRIDAY

Little Kings

The Arcs

Mario Speedwagon

Terrapin

Del Yeah Fest

SATURDAY

40 Watt

Modern Skirts

Matrimony

Eastern Block

Caledonia

Space Ghost

Elevation

Tealvox

Georgia Theatre

Corduroy Road

MONDAY

Go Bar

Gripe

The Men

Shaved Christ

TUESDAY

Farm 255

Deleted Scenes

Pretty Bird

Spiked Punch

Star Slammer

P-P-P-Popfest!

2011-08-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

There is never NOT an appropriate time to use this.

Dude. Have you seen the new Athens Popfest site? It's way better than the one you're currently on if you are reading this (though we're working overtime to completely revamp but I digress). It's so shiny! And kinda hipster-esque with the fonts and the colors....

Anyway, Popfest has a full lineup of bands for you to check out this year. Some big big names are coming through like Throwing Muses and Bob Mould. But it should be noted that they have paired up with Fluke, The Secret Record Swap, and Indie Craftextravaganzaa over at the Classic Center as well. So this year, you don't get just music, you get crafts and comics too! Yes!

Some notable names on our list of not to miss shows are Oh-Ok, James Husband, the Goons, and Witches. But that's just us. You can check out the current lineup here.

New Addiction: White Violet

2011-08-29T16:22:00.000-04:00

I am a shameless Nate Nelson fan. I am also a shameless Gift Horse fan. And A. Armada. And Tin Cup Prophette... Well, you can probably see where this is going. Basically, Nate has teamed up with some of Athens' finest to create the band White Violet.

I suppose by definition, White Violet would be a super group, especially when you add in producers David Barbe and Andy LeMaster. As far as sound goes, it's as every bit as haunting and heart piercing as Nate's solo stuff. Just take Knobs Have Turned and add a few more years experience and a great backing band and you've got White Violet. The additional players add some needed texture and depth that Nelson's solo work was lacking. The group builds on his documentary of life in Athens writing style and fine tunes it. Highly recommended. Just turn it up and get lost...

<a href="http://natenelson.bandcamp.com/album/hiding-mingling-sampler">Hiding, Mingling (Sampler) by White Violet</a>

Best by A Good Country Mile

2011-08-26T16:24:00.000-04:00

Kevn Kinney

I imagine that listening to Kevn Kinney's "MacDougal Blues" for the first time is a lot like discovering Bob Dylan had a younger brother south of the Mason-Dixon line. It's hard to argue with Kinney's straight-forward storytelling, especially when punctuated by such interesting wordplay.

Telling a story is hard. Crafting one to go with music is even harder. But I urge you to take a listen at "Hey Landlord (Meatloaf and Fishsticks)". It's practically the story of every Athens musician ever. Heck, a lot of us non-musician, non-student types have these problems too. Do I pay the rent which is over due by months? Or do I accept the inevitable and just go get drunk? Man, I've got records to buy and gigs to get to. Don't bother me with rent....

So Mr. Kinney has a new record coming out called A Good Country Mile. I'm immediately interested, even though I've only heard snippets from his Athfest show this past June. He's throwing a cd release show SATURDAY at the 40 Watt.

If you're not sure what you're in for, might I recommend taking a trip over to Southern Shelter and listening to his live recordings. You'll be pretty blown away. But if you're the strict audio/visual type, fear not. We've got the video below to tide you over.

Athens Music News Roundup

2011-08-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

Have you seen UGA's new TV spot? After the boatloads of shame that were cast upon the school from last year's ad, some Grady alumni decided to create a better video. It features the famous Chapel Bell and a song from R.E.M.

The B-52s' first live album drops Oct. 11. With the Wild Crowd - Live in Athens, GA was recorded and filmed at the Classic Center earlier this year.

A friend of ours, Tim White, recently lost pretty much everything last week in a fire at his home. His buddy and bandmate John Keane has set up a facebook event to take donations. It details what is needed so if you've got some extra stuff, contact John. Thanks.

Vote for Nuci's!

Athens, GA circa 1985 via PARTYLINE, the show.

Tonight Zaxby's is donating 10% of their sales between 5pm & 8pm to help support the Georgia Theatre All Athens locations are participating.

A Kate Bush cover by Bambara!

Gigworn: Final Sale: 90% off everything. Get to it!

The FourCoursemen encounter bison..

Athens Popfest has announced its full lineup...

And finally, the Humms, our pick for best album of the year last year, released this:

Weekly Show Picks

2011-08-24T16:32:00.000-04:00

TONIGHT

Georgia Theatre

Dank Sinatra

The Heavy Pets

40 Watt

Gift Horse

Eddie the Wheel

David Barbe and the Quick Hooks

Ansley Rushing

THURSDAY

No Where Bar

Jazz Chronic

The Suex Effect

Little Kings

Chrissakes

Trophy Wives

Vincas

FRIDAY

40 Watt

Turquoise Jeep Records Showcase

Excalibrah and Swamp Thang

uRbN tRbN

Farm 255

Reptar

Bubbly Mommy Gun

Quiet Hooves

Go Bar

Harouki Zombie

SATURDAY

40 Watt

The HEAP

Kevn Kinney Band

Some Dark Holler

Melting Point

Deja Vu

Nuci's Space

Sparkle Song

Go Bar

Reeks of Failure

The Fuzzlers

Kater Mass

So It Goes

MONDAY

Go Bar

Madeline

Why Are We Building Such a Large Ship?

Zumm Zumm

TUESDAY

Little Kings

Cold Ones

Kater Mass

Punk DJ Night

Reverse the Curse

Earthquake

2011-08-23T16:26:00.000-04:00

Most people would post the R.E.M. video right now. But noooooooooo. We have to go a bit more obscure, don't we? So here's our favorite shaky type local music.